Advocates Urge Governor to Expand Medicaid

AP

NASHVILLE (AP) – The state chapter of the NAACP and other advocates for health care are urging Gov. Bill Haslam to expand Medicaid in Tennessee.

About 50 protesters gathered on the War Memorial Plaza across the street from the state Capitol on Thursday.

Tennessee NAACP President Gloria Sweet-Love says her group wrote the governor about two weeks ago and will hold events throughout the year to draw attention to the issue.

Haslam last year declined to accept the Medicaid money without special arrangements for the state.

He met with former Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius twice during a visit to Washington in February and ended up asking her to make a counterproposal to Tennessee's call for using the federal money to subsidize private insurance and promote healthier lifestyles through a series of incentives.

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